was and i still don't know. >> reporter: this is bob levinson in better times. he's the father of seven and now has two grandchildren. in march of 2007, working as a private investigator, levinson travelled to dubai on a case involving counterfeit cigarettes. he took a side trip to kish island, an iranian free trade zone that requires no entry visa. he met with a contact there and was arrested by iranian authorities. >> when this first happened, i expected him to be home in a couple of days. unfortunately, that hasn't happened. and we still have no information on where he is or how to get him home. >> reporter: but you believe he's in iran. >> i believe he's live and in iran or one of the countries nearby. >> reporter: in 2007, levinson's wife christine along with her son daniel traveled to teheran to meet with iranian officials, but the iranians said they had no information about levinson. did you get the impression that they were stymied by this mystery or that they weren't trying hard? >> they said that they were working and doing everything they can. i think